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Pictures Of Hamsters
By peace | November 13, 2006
Hamsters have been a very popular children’s pet for some time now. Although they were not kept as pets until 1930, hamsters are naturally tame and enjoy being handled. Their name comes from the German word ‘hamstern’ which means to ‘hoard’. They have pockets in their cheeks which can hold an incredible amount of stuff! Usually they will maintain a ‘stash’ of food in the bedding of their cage. This stash should be left alone when cleaning the cage or the hamster can become insecure.
Hamsters have a life span of about 1000 days (a little less than 3 years).
The sizes of hamsters will vary with the type of breed. The giant hamster gets to be 8-12 inches long, the middle sized hamster, which is the most common hamster found in pet stores, is 5-6 inches (Golden Hamsters are in this group, including the Syrian Golden Hamster), and the dwarf hamster is only 2-4 inches long!
Most hamsters in American and English pet stores are Syrian Hamsters. Teddy Bear is a term sometimes used for the longhaired variety of the Syrian Hamster, and the so-called Black Bear hamster is just a Syrian Hamster with black fur. All of them may well indeed be the descendants of a single mother.
The Syrian Hamster or Golden Hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, is the best known member of the rodent subfamily Cricetinae, the hamsters. They may now be extinct in nature, but are popular as house pets all across the world, and are also used in scientific research. Adults grow from 5″ to 7″ in length, and in captivity will usually live from 2 to 3 years.
Golden Hamsters have been used in scientific research, in the study of many diseases, and also in the study of behaviour. They have a number of fixed action patterns that are readily observed, including scent-marking.
Roborovski (Robos) are the smallest of the dwarf hamsters and originated in Mongolia. They can live in colonies, but excessive overcrowding may result in cannibalism of young if they feel there will not be enough food or space. This also applies to other dwarf hamsters if overbred.
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